


Trapped in the Turbolift

by LeftyVoyager



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Turbolift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 18:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2742386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeftyVoyager/pseuds/LeftyVoyager
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Janeway and Chakotay get trapped in a turbolift on their way to the bridge during an emergency.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trapped in the Turbolift

**Author's Note:**

> World's most tame turbolift story. I think I was goaded into writing this from my JetC friends, but probably would have done it anyway - every writer does a turbolift story eventually. Written during season three and all I've done since then is edit some formatting and correct mistakes. Please forgive me - I was 19 and writing about adult relationships. Yikes!
> 
> Disclaimer:  Paramont is the Master of all of Star Trek and it's characters, I just make them do their own thing. I write for myself and not for money or anyone else, so no need for the Master to worry about little me. My stories are generally PG, but if you can't handle an occasional naughty word or a little bit of violence, or a little bit of intimacy, then you have serious problems because most things you'll find on the internet are worse! :) I won't tell you that you can't copy my work and send it around because I have no right to copyright something that really belongs to the Master, anyway, but if you do, give me some credit and let me know, okay? Thank you and enjoy!

Trapped in the Turbolift

 

Why was it that all emergencies seemed to happen in the middle of the night?  Captain Janeway pondered this as she was violently pulled from a sleep she had just obtained by Tuvok's voice.

"Janeway here!" she responded through her commbadge, not even pretending to be fully awake and alert.

"Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, please report to the bridge immediat-!"  Tuvok's voice was broken by the sound of something exploding.  Captain Janeway jumped out of bed, threw on her uniform, and met an equally walking zombie Commander Chakotay in the corridor as they both headed for the turbolift.

"Bridge," grunted Chakotay, and the lift started to move.  "Good morning, Captain," he said, wryly.

"What's so good about it?  Remind me not to stay up all night talking to you anymore.  Especially not when there's going to be an emergency."

"We'll just have to learn to predict the future, then, won't we?" asked Chakotay.  Kathryn marveled on how she could banter with Chakotay even when they were on their way to face a crisis situation.  Then she realized something.  They weren't on their way to face a crisis situation anymore - the turbolift had stopped.  The commanding officers looked at each other for a second.  Suddenly, the lights flickered, then went off. They had apparently lost power.

"Janeway to the bridge.  Please respond!" said Kathryn, touching her commbadge, but the effort was futile.  The comm system was down, too.

"Life support is down," commented Chakotay.  "At least it is in here.  They probably cut life support in all non-vital systems.  I estimate that we'll have 4 or 5 hours in here before we run out of oxygen."

"There's a solution to that, Commander.  You'll just have to stop breathing," said Janeway, dryly.

"Is that an order?" asked Chakotay.  He smiled, glad she couldn't see it in the darkness.  Only the two of them could joke about being trapped in a turbolift with a dwindling oxygen supply.

Instinctively, Kathryn started to pace.  "I hope everything's all right..."

"Tuvok is perfectly capable of handling the situation without us, Kathryn.  The best thing we can do is to relax and save our breath."  Suddenly, the ship lurched to the side, causing Kathryn to fall on Chakotay, and Chakotay to fall into the wall.

"We should sit down," commented Kathryn.  The two sat on the floor at opposite ends of the lift.  Kathryn thought it was a little eerie that she couldn't quite tell where he was because of the darkness.

"So, miss expert on protocol, what do two commanding officers who are stuck on a turbolift talk about?" asked Chakotay.

"That depends on whether the lights are on or off, Commander," joked Janeway.  Hey, she was stuck in the damn turbolift, and there was nothing she could do, so she might as well make the best of it.

"I see.  So, the lights are off, Captain.  What does the rule book say?"

"It says do not pass go, and do not collect two hundred dollars," said Kathryn matter of factly.

"What?" asked Chakotay.

"It's a reference to a 20th century earth game called Monopoly," said Janeway.

"It doesn't sound very much fun!" he commented.

"That depends on whether or not you're winning," she said.  Not being able to think of a reply to that, Chakotay allowed them to fall into a comfortable silence.  Five minutes later, since his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he noticed her shoulders shaking.

"Are you shivering?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," she lied.

"It's getting cooler in here.  With the life support down, the climate control is off, too," said Chakotay.

"But I thought that would make it warmer in here - not cooler," said Kathryn.

"We're in the turbolift.  There's not much circuitry or anything in here that would warm up.  This is one of the few places that the climate control has to warm up instead of cool down," explained Chakotay.

"Oh," said Kathryn, and by the time she noticed his shadowy form coming toward her, it was too late to tell him to go away.  He sat next to her and put his arm around her.  "Chakotay," she warned, not too convincingly.

"Now, now, Captain.  It isn't against protocol to save a crewman who is absolutely freezing to death.  Your hands feel like ice cubes!"

"I like your hands, too, Chakotay," she said with a smirk that he couldn't see.

"You do?" he asked, mockingly.

She was about to pull away from him, but she realized that without his body heat, she really was cold.  And then she remembered another time when her body was cold and Chakotay's arms had been around her.  The time she had nearly died and Chakotay had tried to resuscitate her...  Instead of moving away from him, her attempt to move only brought her closer to him.  Chakotay was shocked.  Had that been an indication of fear?  He hugged her tighter.  "Kathryn?"

"Sorry...  I was just thinking of something else...."

"You don't have to be sorry for being human," said Chakotay.  Ironically, he was also trying not to let her see that his teeth were chattering as well.  The temperature sure is dropping fast, he thought.  Good thing they weren't losing breathable air that fast.

"When we get out of here, remind me to have emergency blankets and oxygen masks available on the turbolift," said Kathryn.  Chakotay laughed.  "What's so funny?" asked Kathryn.

"Nothing.  I was just thinking about how this is all my fault," he said.

"How so?" asked Kathryn, worrying a little that perhaps she was starting to enjoy being huddled up next to her first officer more than she should.

"I was thinking one day of what it would be like to have you trapped on the turbolift with me.  And here we are..."

"Chakotay!"

"Just kidding," he laughed.

"God, I wonder what's happening on the bridge...," said Kathryn.

"Tuvok is the best.  I'm sure everything's fine," Chakotay reassured her.

After a few more minutes of talking, they mutually decided that if they stopped chatting, they would save oxygen.  Several times, Kathryn almost fell asleep, but each time, she shook herself awake with a start.  "Sleep, Kathryn," mumbled Chakotay, as he stroked her hair, which had fallen out of its clip.

After what seemed like hours later, Chakotay awoke with a start and realized he was practically gasping for air.  He shook Kathryn awake.  "Are you okay?" he asked.

She yawned, the expected response from somebody whose body was lacking oxygen.  "I can't breathe," she gasped.  Her fingernails gripped his arms as if the harder she squeezed them, the more air she could take in.  She stopped when she could tell he was wincing.  "Sorry.."

"If you apologize for one more thing today, you'll have something to be sorry about," panted Chakotay, suffocating from lack of air.  The air grew thinner and thinner, and the commanding officers tried harder and harder to stay conscious, but it was to no avail.

Four hours and twenty-nine minutes after the turbolift got stuck, the lights flashed on, and the lift resumed its course for the bridge.  It opened, and as Tom Paris was about to enter it, the sight of his two inert superior officers greeted him.  "Hold turbolift!  Paris to sickbay, I've found the captain and the commander!  Recommend emergency beam out!"

"Understood, Mr. Paris," said the holographic doctor.  Harry Kim had gotten communications back on-line seconds before the turbolift came back to life.  In a flash of light, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were whisked away to sickbay.

Upon being released from sickbay, Kathryn Janeway did not in any way feel like ignoring the doctor's orders to rest.  She and Chakotay walked to their quarters together.  "Well, Chakotay, it's been an interesting turbolift ride.  We'll have to do it again sometime."

"I agree, Captain.  I found it to be rather breathtaking," said Chakotay, avoiding her menacing stare at him after his bad pun.  By this time, they were outside of her quarters.  He leaned close to her and kissed her lightly.  She reached up to brush her fingers across his tattoo.  The two disappeared into the captain's quarters after that.

B'Elanna and Tom had been watching the entire exchange from the still open turbolift.

"What if that had been us, Tom?"

"I've always wanted to have wild and crazy sex in the turbolift."

"Tom!!!!  .....Wanna try it sometime?  I can arrange for it to be broken at certain convenient times...," she said, giving him a conspirational wink.

 

The End.


End file.
